The Demigod Ravens
by OmegaExodus
Summary: Austin, Jess, and Toby are three young friends setting out to live as normal people. They each know of their history, but Austin refutes it. After all, he is a son of Zeus with absolutely no powers. Why would he need to take part in a fight he has no place in? The story of their lives begins to unfold in this dramatic new adventure!


**Been a while. This a story I've had cooking for a while, and I thought I'd re-release it after I took it down. It's a shame to waste it. I'm not that great at English, so pardon me for tense issues and failed sentences, but hey, I tried my best. Huge AU, and if I ever get to updating (Unlikely) I probs won't have Percy and Co., else they'll be intensely OoC. **

**Shout-out too Toner of ShadoWs for making a single great hit story! She deserves all the best.  
**

Chapter 1: Promise.

* * *

10 years ago

* * *

"The Ritual?" I asked. "But I... don't know anything about it."

"But that's how it is! That's the arrangement!" she quickly answered. "Or else... I thought that maybe you, Austin, could consider it."

After a moment's hesitation, I stood up to her with a confidence I didn't know I possessed.

With that, I said to her, "I'll be your Hero, Isabelle! And I'll always be by your side."

_I'll protect you, Isabelle..._

Back then, I didn't know how easily promises could be broken.

* * *

Present Day

* * *

Winds were tearing up the city. It just kept growing and growing, and nothing would get in its way.

An officer yelled into his radio "We gotta stop it! If this keeps up, it'll transition to phase 3!" The police were shooting at the thing, but the bullets passed through harmlessly leaving no trace.

"Sorry for the wait!" Yelled a guy in shorts and a tie-dyed tee.

"Captain!" the officer yelled.

"Alright, you guys. Maintain the barrier. I'll take this one down on my own."

He unsheathed his sword, and swung it once. A huge shock-wave comes forth from the sword and sliced through the beast.

"Wow," Toby whispered, mockingly.

"Awesome..." Was what I replied, staring at the TV like it was real, like I was actually experiencing something like that in person."Did you see that, Toby?"

"That was a show, Austin. It's not real. There's a lot of these types of shows here, you know."

"Since you grew up here, you must be used to seeing that kind of stuff right?"

"Yeah, Austin. I have watched TV before." Toby said, jokingly. "You never know. That guy might be real. Wouldn't you like that?"

"I know it's fake." I said. "Jeez, you don't have to harass me about it."

I was just about to lick my ice cream cone. "Huh?" NO WAY. The pigeon pooped on it.

Toby laughed. "You've got no luck, same as ever. You've almost been run over by a car like, twelve times."

"This sucks." I said, brokenhearted. "This has got to be an ancient curse passed down through my ancestors."

"How melodramatic. But you know... with your lineage, you might..." And he slowly dropped off into a mumble. I didn't pay him any attention, mostly because I was to busy wallowing in self-pity.

"Uh-oh" Toby said. "Just what I expect from your luck, Austin."

"Huh?"

"She's here." and Toby turned away smiling.

"Wha-WHOA!" I suddenly got pushed to the ground, and I felt someone jump onto my back. "Not cool!"

Jess got off my back and helped me up. "I found you, Austin!" Jess laughed. "Successful Capture!"

"Jess? Where the hell did you come from!? And don't cling to me!" I yelled.

"More to the point, why didn't you answer your cell, Austin?"

"I was in my summer classes."

"Like I'd expect from the guy who thinks a C- is good enough."

"Leave me alone," I grunted.

Then Jess suddenly developed a malicious expression, and said "But, you know, you didn't call me back, so you're just as guilty. Aren't you afraid of making me mad?" Pausing for a second, she then put out her hands, and smiled an endearing smile, a smile that I immediately would regret seeing. "Okay, pay the price."

* * *

"I don't get it." I said. "Why do I have to treat you to shaved ice? I don't get it at all."

Jess is happily eating away at the shaved ice _I_ bought her. Then she leans over and takes mine too! "Stop that! Don't eat other people's, too!" I yell.

"Ah, and here comes the whining." Jess said in reply.

"You had it coming!"

Toby cut in. "Hey, Jess, did you come to give the same old lecture again?"

"Ah" she said. "Yeah, yeah, that's right!" she turns to me. "You saw that recent broadcast right? Doesn't it get your blood pumping? You know you're a Demigod. Why don't you become a hero! I mean, come on, you're the son of Zeus!"

"Jess," I try to say, suddenly really tired... "How many times do I have to say it? I may be a son of Zeus, but I'm a misfit. I can't see monsters. They don't attack me. I don't have any powers, or natural fighting skills. I don't have the talent to be a hero like that. And besides, there are other people to do that."

"Are you perhaps referring to... her?"

"Yeah. Unlike me, she's incredibly talented. We're the same age, but she's on a completely different level. She's been in Manhattan since this spring, attending a private school and being surrounded by the elite. Her situation in a school like that is way different from us in our no-name school," I sighed. "I'll just leave it to her."

"Isn't it frustrating? What's with that?" Jess asked.

"Not at all!" I quickly answer. "Thanks to her, I can have an easygoing life without any weird expectations for my future."

"Really?" Her face looked disheartened. "You really think there isn't a single person who has any expectations for you?"

"Huh? No, uh, that is, nobody-"

(_flashback_)

..

_...Liar..._

_.. _

_...You're a liar..._

_.. _

"Austin?" Toby voice pulled me out of the trance. "It's dripping."

"Shit!" I yelled. My pants were covered in shaved ice.

"Pf-ff. It looks like someone wet themselves." Jess quietly giggles to herself.

"Shut up." I rolled my eyes.

Toby stood up and stretched. "Well anyway, if you're into giving advice about the future, think about what's ahead of us too. Like where we should meet tomorrow?"

"Right, Toby. Since you just moved here this spring, this will be your first time to the dance." Jess said.

"Yeah, but really, it's okay, I don't need to go. I'd just be in the way. You two went together for the past two years, right?"

I laughed. "What do you mean? Why would you be in the way? I mean, we're all just friends, right?"

Toby chuckled, obviously amused. Then he looked toward Jess for some reason. "Friends, huh? You know, he is a dunce, so I wouldn't worry."

Jess raised her arms, and exclaimed, "I know, right?"

I was confused at this point. "What are you talking about? "

* * *

_"See you tomorrow!" Jess yelled, waving at both of us from her window._

"What a day," I said.

"A peaceful day..." Toby shot back.

"We had so much free time. But why did Jess have to be like that?"

"She's really into telling you to be a hero."

"Yeah. It's just around this year that she suddenly got really vocal about it."

"Maybe she couldn't stand to see you mocked anymore?"

"No, that's not it. She's the one that mocks me the most."

Toby laughed at that. "Probably, right."

"She just doesn't understand."

"She probably knows about Isabelle too, right? Well? She's a girl of many mysteries after all." he paused. "And what about you, Austin? You can't tell me that you didn't want to be a superhero as a kid."

"But I was just a kid, after all. My parents didn't push me into anything. It was just a short-lived dream."

"Everyone's like that right? As a kid, they dream to be an astronaut, or a famous athlete. They mostly forget about it too." He stopped in the middle of the road, and looked at me. "I think you can do it, though."

We stopped at the bus stop. I waited there with Toby until his bus arrived. He didn't let me stop thinking about it for one moment, until he was in the bus. Even then, he didn't stop yelling out of the bus window.

"Good grief. Every last one of them wants to accept this, as if this were a higher calling."

I start walking across the bridge. Nobody else is on it.

What a lazy summer break I've spent with Toby and Jess. I'm pretty fond, of this kind of daily life. Tomorrows the dance. I'm looking forward to it...

Someone else was walking up the bridge. I saw her face and froze.

"Isabelle." I whispered, dead quiet.

"Why are you here? You're supposed to be in Manhattan." She gave me a look that could wither a plant. I'm not kidding you, that plant would keel over and die an agonizingly slow death.

"Oh, right, it's summer break. How long are you staying here?" I asked, trying not to push any unnecessary buttons.

"It's been a long time, Austin."

What a weird response.

* * *

"So, you can't be here for more than a week, huh? That's what I'd expected from such an elite school. You don't get much vacation-"

She cut me off. "That's not it. Honestly, I have a little more, but... there are a lot of things to do ahead of me."

I felt a stabbing pain in my chest. " I-Is that right...? That must be rough." I stuttered.

"There's no problem with my classes, It's actually the 'Ritual' that's more... Ah, never mind, it's nothing."

"Uh, have you made friends? You're surrounded by amazing people right?" I'm stumbling around with my words, not quite sure what is right to say.

"Friends?"

"Huh? Do you still not have many? You never were good with people." I laughed a bit, trying to be courteous. "Are you being bullied?"

"It's fine, once I have my true power, they won't be able to take me lightly." she said, with a special gleam in her eye.

I simply rolled my eyes and stayed silent at that. "Ha-ha, you're the same as always... You didn't come here to visit any friends, right?"

"What about you Austin? Have you made some useful friends?"

_ Useful? Whether they're useful or crappy is..._ I thought.

"But friends are fundamentally people that you use to strengthen yourself through competition. If they don't do that, you'll just fall into a rut living your daily life. Though, I guess for someone like you, Austin, who's just leading an insignificant life, it doesn't really matter what kind of friends you gather."

That was a deep shot. "Hey!"

She gasped and quickly covered her mouth. But then the fire came back in her eyes. "But as for me... I don't have time to waste on meaningless days. I don't have the leisure to keep useless friends."

Then she shot me a look that I would remember for the rest of my life. The look of extreme superiority. I try to recover, but I stumble... "I'd expect a Glorious genius like you to say stuff like that. You have such lofty ambitions." I barely managed to say that without losing my cool. Except, I think I lost my cool a long time ago.

She shrugs. "Just stating the truth doesn't make me a genius or an ordinary person."

I got so pissed at that statement. "Damn it..."

"Good night." She said. She promptly turned around and left, leaving me alone on the bridge.

..

_...You're a liar..._

_.._

"Shit..."

* * *

"Loser." Toby huffed. A direct shot to my feelings. "Arguing with a woman is an automatic out. You'll miss time you could be flirting. And anyways, she seems like a sweet girl. From the way you said it, her point was 'I'm lonely'."

"Uh, Really..." I was thinking. What if he's right?

"Don't let it get you down, Austin. It's just one broken heart."

"NO, it's not a broken-"

"A broken heart? Who?" whispered someone behind me.

"That voice is-" I slowly turned around. "Jess?"

Jess walks by me, dressed in this ridiculously beautiful outfit. She's wearing a red dress, with frills on the side. My face was flushed. I finally found my voice, and said "Um... You're late, Jess. And... what's up with that outfit?" Toby was standing beside me, coughing, as if that were some kind of secret code.

"Since it's the dance, I thought I'd come in something special this time. Got a problem with it?"

"Uhh, no, I don't have a problem with it, but..." Yep, that's me. Ladies man, Austin Nitris. Toby is standing beside me, watching as I fail, hardcore. "It's just not like you... It's just too unexpected..."

I'm stumbling, as Jess is slowly getting more and more pissed. "I doubted my eyes... No! I mean, I was completely stunned... Uhhh but! It's cool... It looks good on you." Finally! I guess it hit the right code! Jess stopped fuming immediately.

"Really?"

"Y-yeah, you look more like an adult than usual. It's kind of a fresh feeling."

"Thank you" she whispered.

Suddenly clapping comes from beside me. " Well then, let's go you two." Toby moved right along.

* * *

As the band played through the final moments of it last selected songs, we snuck out to join the festival going on outside.

"Look, look, Austin! Cotton candy. Let's buy some cotton candy." She had a gleam in her eye as she was grabbing three sticks of cotton candy. I have no clue as to where that cotton candy went. One moment it was there, and immediately after, the only thing left was the stick.

Later into the night, we went to a mask store. "Which one do you think will look good on me?" she asked me.

"The weird looking one." It was at this point that she gave me one of her infamous karate punches. Yeah, she took karate."Ow, I was kidding!"

Toby laughed. What an easygoing guy. "So the meek act was just for the moment, huh... And she's quickly turned back into the usual Jess."

I sighed. I burnt out most of my money on her. "If I'm seen by anyone from school in a place like this..." Now that I think about it, I wonder if Isabelle will come. Rather, has she even been to a summer festival? She's alone now, too.

"Austin!" Jess yells. She was holding one of those fairground guns that you shoot the pellets to knock stuff over. "This looks interesting!"

"Shooting huh? How nostalgic."

"Here I go!" she said as she fired. "I missed!" she yelled immediately after.

"No kidding."

"Will you get that prize for me, Austin?"

"Why me?" Then she glared me down. "I'm not very good at it." she glared some more. "Okay Okay, don't get mad if I miss!"

Dozens of minutes later.

"My ten bucks. Why?" I whimpered.

Toby was amused, "Wow, what a good sport."

"Okay, this is the last one. If I don't get it, I'm giving up!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jess lean over.

"Hey, Austin."

"Don't talk to me right now."

"If you get that for me-" she started.

"That's why I'm saying, don't talk to me."

"-I'll kiss you."

I may have blacked out, cause I saw gray, and suddenly Jess had the prize in her hand, and I was left with a shocked feeling coursing through my body.

"You did it!"

"Jess! What did you just-?" I kind of mumbled.

"What are you talking about, Austin?"

"You used something like that with no warning!"

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about..."

Toby was trying his very hardest not to laugh. "What did you win?"

I looked at it. "A soap bubble set?"

Jess smiled and took the ribbon off it. "It's fine. This is all that I wanted." She used the ribbon to tie her short hair into a ponytail.

"It's so cute!"

"Yeah..."

"Isn't it cute?"

"Yeah..."

She then yelled at me with the most ferocious eyes. "Say that it's cute!"

I reel back and quickly comply. "G-G-Gotcha, it's cute, I'm saying it's cute!"

"Really?" she asked with her puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah, really, You're super cute!" I say, trying to shake her off.

"You could have just quietly said that it was cute from the beginning."

Slowly it dawned on me. This was Jess. She always did this kinda stuff.

"No way, did you...? Was all of that to make me say the word 'Cute'...? Was that why you made me spend over ten bucks on that cheap looking ribbon?"

"Victory!" she yelled. I leaned over, dead on the inside. Toby pat me on the back, probably feeling sorry.

"But really, thank you, I'll treasure it." She then blew the bubbles and nearby children came to play too.

"Come on, really!" I sighed, and then whispered to Toby, "At least she's happy."

Toby yelled, "Jess! Let's go over to the riverbed before the fireworks start."

"Ah," she said, "Right. I have to do something first. Wait just a second." She gave the bubble set to the children and ran off, right after saying "I'll be right back."

"Jess?" I gave Toby a worried look. "Whats up with her?"

"Let's go see."

We chased her down, and found her at the board where people always put their wishes. For good luck, you know?

"Ah, there she is." I said. I walked over and asked her, "What are you doing?"

Jess seemed shaken when she saw me. "Austin? I told you to wait-"

"A wishing paper? Why are you hiding it?" I took the paper and read it.

_I wish for Austin to become a great Hero. An unbeatable one._

Blood was rushing through my head. I whispered to her, "You..." Jess flinched, but I kept going. "Need to knock it off. Even at a time like this. Can you really not forgive me for how I live my life?"

Jess yells back, trying to defend herself. "That's not it! I just want this for your sake, Austin!"

_I don't have the time to waste on meaningless days. I don't have the leisure to keep useless friends._

"You too, huh? Maybe I am leading an insignificant daily life."

_I'm different than you._

"But-" I paused, "I like this worthless everyday existence. I don't want to ruin it."

I look at her with the most contempt I'd ever had.

"Do you want to ruin it, Jess?"

"I-" She was silent, on the verge of crying.

"Yeah. Is that so?" I took the paper, and threw it on the ground. I don't meet her face. I can't look at her anymore. She scrambles after the paper.

"Austin. You," tears in her eyes, "IDIOT!" and she runs off, not bothering to look back.. I'm just standing there, doing nothing. Thinking about what to do next.

"So, she left?" My fists clenched hard, I refused to look in the direction she ran. There was nothing left to do. Toby simply stayed silent.

"Shit," I curse. After I calm down a little, Toby tries to comfort me and be truthful at the same time.

It was not at all helpful. After all, isn't comforting somebody suppose to be helpful? He was striking at my chest with with a metal stake. Every word he uttered was the truth, and it hurt...

"Hey, Toby. What happened just now. Was that my fault?"

"No, it was Jess's fault."

I give him a look.

"You just made it ___worse._"

I hate it when he makes a valid point.

"So, with this, you've successfully broken two hearts in two nights. You lady-killer."

"Cut it out, I'm really feeling down."

"If you're feeling down, then surely, Jess must feel worse. What are you going to do? If you want some motivation to go after her, I could punch you." He pulled up his sleeve, to prove his point.

"No, please don't. You've got to be kidding me to think I'd take a punch from a former boxer like you." I sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. I was overdoing it." The thing I didn't want to lose was my daily life with Jess and Toby. "I-I need her." I begin to lift out of my depression zone.

"Alright! I'll head out right away-" and suddenly there was this huge gust of wind behind us. and a voice I never heard before in my life asked something strange.

"Are you the rumored child prodigy?" I turn around to see a girl standing before me, with a being that looked like a robot.

"To get right to the point," she paused dramatically, "I want you to accompany me in my experiment."

**And thus, This is the end that I got too. Fail huh? I stopped a while ago. Lazy too update, Morale low, stuff like that. Well onto bigger and better stories. not really though.**


End file.
